Carpet stretcher



H. SKOLNICK CARPET STRETCHER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR. #f1/eey .fem/WCM Sept. 26, 1961 Filed Nov. 1o, 1959 Sept. 26, 1961 Filed NOV. l0, 1959 H.y SKOLNICK CARPET STRETCI-IER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGA Plas IN VEN TOR. /rf4fe/e y leafy/o( 3,001,762 CARPET STRETCHER Harry Skolnick, 2612 W. 2nd St., Brooklyn 23, N.Y. Filed Nov. 10, 1959, Ser. No. 852,089 8 Claims. (Cl. 254-62) This invention relates to a carpet stretching device and more particularly to a device adapted to facilitate the laying of wall-to-wall carpeting and its secu-rement to a tackless strip. In laying rugs and carpeting from wall to wall of an enclosure or room, it is essential that the carpeting be drawn or stretched into close proximity to the wall or base board prior to securement in position. In order to accomplish this result, it has heretofore been the practice to employ a kick or similar device whereby the knee of the person laying the carpeting forces a tool into engagement with the carpeting intopproximity to the base board, where it is preferably engaged by a pronged tacking strip. This method of stretching the carpeting is ineicient and in addition to causing considerable fatigue may result in personal injury to the person of the carpet layer. Although some devices have been suggested to accomplish the stretching action mechanically, these devices have been cumbersome and costly.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a device for use in stretching carpeting, particularly when the carpeting is to be secured to a pronged tacking strip which is easily portable and which may be readily operated without causing excessive fatigue or injury to the user.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a device of the character indicated wherein a carpeting may be stretched into position and engagement with a tackless carpet securing strip without injury to the carpeting and at a rapid rate of speed.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a device of the character indicated which may be Ireadily shifted from position to position and which is light in weight and may be inexpensively produced in large quantities.

Other and more specific objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description as read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a carpet stretching device in accordance with my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-section of the device taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, showing the device disposed in operative position with respect to a wall base board and carpeting and indicating the operated position of the device as it stretches the carpeting into engagement with a tacking strip, in broken lines;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIGURE 2, showing the device as it appears released from the carpeting after the carpet stretching operation has been completed;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the device partly broken away;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary cross-section of FIGURE 4 taken along line 5-5 thereof;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the device taken along line 6 6 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of the device taken along line 7-7 of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the face plate of the device taken along line 8-8 of FIGURE 4.

As may be seen from FIGURES l, 4 and 7, the device comprises a substantially rectangular carriage designated generally by the numeral 10 comprising side plates 11 which are interconnected at their forward ends by means of a laterally extending transverse connecting plate 13 and at rearward ends by means of a laterally extending transverse connecting rod 14. The extremities of the side plates are ixedly secured to the transverse connecting plate and rod 13 and 14 respectively so as to form a rigid rectangular frame or carriage Ill. Wheels or casters 16 are advantageously rotatably mounted at the extremities of rod 14. A face plate designated generally by the numeral 15 is disposed at the front end of the device. Said face plate is provided with a planar forward surface 17, whereas the rear face 18 of the -face plate is provided with complemental inturned ribs 19 which define a T-shaped channel therebetween within which the transverse connecting plate 13 is confined for lateral sliding movement. The forward extremities of the side plates 11 are notched, as indicated at 20, so as to clear the ribs 19. By mounting the face plate l5 upon the carriage 10 in this manner, these parts may be slid laterally with respect to each other along the length of the T channel so as to permit the adjustment of the position of the carriage ywith respect to extremities of the face plate.

A locking arrangement is provided for locking the face plate with relation to the lrectangular frame at any desired position of lateral adjustment. This locking arrangement is more particularly illustrated in FIGURE 8, wherein it will be seen that a boss 2i having a threaded end is iixedly secured to the transverse connecting plate 13 of the carriage and extends beyond ribs 19. A tie bar 22 overlies the 4ribs 19 defining the T channel and is provided with an aperture 23 through which the threaded boss 21 extends. A wing nut 24 is disposed in threaded engagement with the threaded boss so that when said wing nut is tightened, the frictional engagement of the tie bar 22 with the ribs 19 prevents relative motion between the face plate and the carriage and iixedly retains these parts in any desired position of adjustment. The face plate may thus be shifted with respect to the carriage by merely loosening `the wing nut and locating the face plate at any desired position of adjustments, whereupon it is secured against movement by merely tightening the wing nut. 'It will be observed that the lower longitudinal edge of the rearwardly disposed surface 1'8 of the `face plate 15 is provided with laterally stepped portion'25, as well as a laterally extending concavely arcuate grooved portion 26 disposed immediately thereover, the purpose of which will be hereinafter more fully described.

A carpet gripping assembly is disposed within the area defined by the carriage 10. Said carpet gripping assembly comprises a substantially horizontally disposed carpet gripping plate 2.7 having a rigid back 28 and a pronged carpet gripping downwardly directed face 29. Prongs 29a comprise pointed projections or prongs which are inclined so as to point in the forward direction in which the stretching force is to be applied. Said prongs 29a are adapted to extend into and engage the carpeting so as to move said carpeting when the stretching force is ap,- plied. The carpet gripping plate 27 is provided with a pair of laterally extending liat bosses 30 which are slidably disposed within longitudinal slots 31 formed in pivoted links 32. Said links 32 are disposed along the side edges of the carpet gripping plate 27. The slotted links 32 are advantageously formed of iiat stock and are disposed in parallel alignment with and-adjacent to the interior surfaces of the side plates. The rearwardly disposed ends of slotted links 32 are mounted for pivotal movement on a horizontal axis by means of pivot pins 33 extending from said side plates.

A horizontal hand grip 34 is secured to the carpet gripping plate 27 by means of vertically disposed brackets 35. The rigid back 28 of the carpet gripping plate 27 is also provided with a pair of upstanding ears 36 between which the operating handle 37 is pivotably mounted by means of pivot pin 38,v which extends through registering apertures in the ears and operating handle. A pair of spacedv apart depending ears 39 are xedly secured to operating handle 37 intermediate its ends and a link 40 is pivotably disposed between said depending ears by means of pivot pin 41 which extends through registering apertures in the link 40 and handle 37. The lower extremity of link 40 is provided with an aperture 42 through which connecting rod 14 extends and is thus mounted thereon for pivotable movement. The operating handle 37 thus forms a toggle joint with link 40 whereby the carpet gripping plate is moved in a forward direction when the handle is depressed and moves rearwardly when said handle is raised.

An adjustment screw 42 extends from the lower surface of operating handle 37 and is arranged to abut with the edge of link 40 when the operating handle is moved downwardly so as to prevent excessive locking action when the handle is operated and to permit the toggle joint to be opened without excessive force. Adjustable limit stop screws 43 are carried by side plates 11, said screws are threadedly engaged in the lower edge of said side plates and are provided with enlarged heads which extend into the path of pivoted links 32 so as to limit the downward movement of said links by reason of abutment with said heads. By means of this arrangement, the limit of the downward movement of the pivoted links 32, and consequently of the carpet gripping plate 27, is adjustably set so that the pronged surface 29 of said plate does not penetrate the carpeting to an excessive degree.

As heretofore indicated, the instant carpet stretching device is particularly adapted for use with a tacking strip of conventional type, such as is illustrated in cross section in FIGURES 2 and 3. The numeral 44 indicates a carpet tacking strip of conventional type wherein a strip 45 of wood, or the like, is provided with a plurality of upwardly projecting prongs 46. The strip is nailed adjacent to the baseboard of a wall with the prongs projecting upwardly and inclined toward the baseboard, so that, when the back of carpeting is contacted therewith, the prongs will enter the carpet backing and retain it in position against reverse movement. As may be seen from FIGURES 2 and 3, the strip is nailed or otherwise secured to the iioor in slightly spaced relation with respect to the baseboard. This space is sufhcient to permit the edge of the face plate 15 of the instant device to be interposed between the tacking strip and the baseboard. In this connection, it will be noted that the laterally extending stepped portion formed in the rear face 18 is wedgeshaped in cross section so that the lower edge thereof extends outwardly and abuts with the lower edge of the tacking strip and is wedged thereagainst when the carpet stretching force is applied, as will more clearly appear hereafter. The laterally extending concavely arcuate groove 26 formed immediately above the stepped portion 25 provides a guide for the edge of the carpeting, so that, when the carpeting is stretched, the edge thereof will ride up smoothly on the rear face j18 of the face plate.

In operation, the device is positioned upon the carpeting and moved forward on the surface thereof until the faceplate abuts with the baseboard of the wall. In this connection, it should be noted that although casters `16 are employed, similar results vwould be achieved by providing smooth skids or the like.

The face plate drops into position between the baseboard and the tacking strip so that the stepped portion 25 thereof is in juxtaposition with the base portion of the tacking strip. The operator then grips the horizontal hand grip and the application of pressure thereto causes the pronged carpet gripping plate 27 to descend and contact the carpeting so that the prongs 29a thereof grip the carpet backing. It will be noted that this downward movement is permitted by the pivotal mounting arrangementof links 32. At this point, the operatorapplies downward pressure to the operatinghandle 37, which thereby also applies a forwardly direct force tothe carpet gripping plate, tending to stretch the carpeting toward the baseboard. Simultaneously, the rearward movement of 4 the entire carriage is resisted and prevented by the wedging engagement of the lower stepped edge 25 of the face plate with the tacking strip. As a consequence, the continued downward movement of the operating handle applies additional stretching force to the carpeting, causing the carpeting to slide toward the wall over the prongs of the tacking strip until the operating handle reaches the position illustrated by the broken lines in FIGURE 2. It will be noted that the carpet gripping plate 27 is guided along the slots in pivoted links 32 by reason of the disposition of bosses 30 within slots 31. The arrangement permits the pronged carpet gripping plate to move downwardly and forwardly, the limit of the downward movement being determined by the position of adjustable limit stop screws 43, so as to prevent excessive entry of the prongs into the carpeting and possible tearing thereof. The carpeting is thus maintained in contact with the floor or other supporting surface. As the carpeting is thus stretched, the edge thereof is brought into contact with the upwardly projecting prongs of the tacking strip. As the operating handle is lowered and the desired limit of the stretching action is reached, the operating handle is raised, as shown in FIGURE 3, thereby retracting and raising the carpet gripping plate so that the prongs thereof are smoothly withdrawn from and disengaged with the carpeting. The lower surface of the carpeting is caught upon the points of the upwardly directed prongs of the tacking strip and the tendency of the carpeting to recover from the stretched condition causes the prongs to penetrate the carpet backing by reason of the inclination of the upwardly directed prongs 46 of the tacking strip. The toggle linkage of the operating handle permits the carpet to be maintained in stretched condition if `it is desired to manually force the carpeting into further engagement with the tacking strip.

After raising the operating handle and thus detaching the device, the operator merely moves the device further along the edge of the carpeting and the operation is then repeated in successive steps until the entire edge has been stretched and engaged with the tacking strip. When the operator reaches a corner or similar point of convergence of two walls, it is important that the carpeting be firmly engaged with the tacking strip as close to the point of convergence as possible. In order to accomplish this, the operator merely loosens wing nut 24 so as to release the face plate from 4frictional engagement with the tie bar 22, thereby permitting the carriage to be slid to the right or left edge of the face plate as desiredjwhereupon the wing nut is again tightened to secure the face plate and carriage against relative movement.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the instant device provides a simple and convenient means for stretching and securing carpeting in position With a minimum amount of effort upon the operator and with a minimum amount of manipulation of parts. Furthermore, the device is extremely compact and light in weight and consequently readily portable and may be moved from position to position with a minimum amount of effort.

While I have here shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent however that this invention is not limited to this embodiment and that many changes, additions and modifications can be made in connection therewith without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as herein disclosed and hereinafter claimed. Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A portable carpet stretching device for stretching carpeting into engagement with a tacking strip, said device comprising a carriage and a face plate mounted on the forward end thereof, said carriage comprising a pair of side plates, transverse members interconnecting said side plates in spaced relation to form a generally rectangular enclosure, a link disposed along the interior surface of each of said side plates, the rearwardly extending end of each of said links being mounted on said side plates for pivotal movement on -a horizontal axis, said links each having an elongated guide slot, a carpent gripping plate disposed between said links and provided with studs extending from the sides thereof into the slots of said links whereby said carpet gripping plate is adapted to be guidedly moved along said slots and to be raised or lowered, operating means for moving said carpet gripping plate downwardly into engagement with a carpet to be stretched and lforwardly in order to apply a carpet stretching movement thereto.

2. The device, according to claim l, wherein said links are pivotable to form a forwardly directed downwardly inclined guideway for said carpet gripping plate.

3. The device, according to claim l, wherein stop means are provided for limiting the downward pivotal movement of said links.

4. The device, according to claim 1, wherein said operating means comprises a toggle linkage between said carriage and said carpet gripping plate.

5. The device, according to claim 4, wherein said toggle linkage includes an extension in the form of an operating handle.

6. A portable carpet stretching device for securing carpeting to a tacking strip, said device comprising a carriage and a face plate mounted on the forward end thereof, said carriage comprising a pair of side plates, a forward transverse connecting member and a rearwardly disposed transverse connecting rod interconnecting said side plates in spaced relation to form a generally rectangular enclosure, a longitudinally extending link disposed along the interior surface of each of said side plates, each of said links being provided with a longitudinally extending slot, the rearwardly extending end of each olf said links being mounted on said side plates for pivotal movement on a horizontal axis, a carpet gripping plate disposed between said links, said carpet gripping plate comprising a rigid backing and a plurality of prongs extending downwardly lfrom the `lower face thereof, said prongs being forwardly inclined, a stud extending from each side edge of said carpet gripping plate and received within the slot of a pivoted link disposed adjacent thereto whereby said carpet gripping plate is guided for movement within the slots of said pivoted links for simultaneous horizontal and vertical movement, a hand grip carried by said carpet gripping plate, an operating handle, one end of said operating handle being pivotably secured to said carpet gripping plate along the upper surface thereof and a link interconnecting said 4transverse rod and said operating handle at a point intermediate the ends of said handle whereby a toggle linkage is formed between said carpet gripping plate and said carriage so that as said operating handle is depressed, the carpet gripping plate is moved downwardly and forwardly to cause the prongs of said plate to engage with carpeting to be stretched and to apply a stretching force thereto, the abutment of a portion of the rearwardly directed surface of said -face plate with a fixed carpet tacking strip providing the reaction to said stretching force.

7. A portable carpet stretching device for stretching carpeting into engagement with a tacking strip comprising a carriage and a face plate mounted on the forward end thereof, a carpet gripping plate mounted in said carriage, said face plate having a llaterally extending lower edge to be disposed in abutment with the tacking strip, means for moving said carpet gripping plate into engagement with carpeting to be stretched and for applying a stretching force thereto, the abutment of the lower edge of said face plate with said tacking strip reacting to the application of said stretching force whereby said carpeting is caused to be stretched in the direction of said tacking strip, the rearwardly directed face of said face plate being provided with a channel for receiving a portion of said carriage in laterally movable relation and locking means for releasably securing said portion with respect to face plate in any selected position along the lateral extent of said channel.

8. A portable carpet stretching device for stretching carpeting into engagement with a tacking strip comprising a carriage and a face plate mounted on the forward end thereof, a carpet gripping plate `mounted in said carriage, said face plate having a laterally extending lower edge to be disposed in abutment with the tacking strip, means for moving said carpet gripping plate into engagement with carpeting to be stretched and for applying a stretching force thereto, the abutment of the lower edge of said face plate with said tacking strip reacting to the application of said stretching force whereby said carpeting is caused to be stretched in the direction of said tacking strip, a pair of longitudinally extending spaced-apart links, the rearwardly extending end of each of said links being pivotably mounted on said carriage -for movement on a horizontal axis, each of said links being provided with an elongated guide slot, means carried by said carpet gripping plate received within said slots for guiding the movement thereof 'along the extent of said slots.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Dexter Dec. 26, 1899 

